They began with a head count on Monday, December 16 – a good 20 or so architects, engineers and building specialists – and then, in teams of four, they set about inspecting the schools, one by one. They began with the schools in Mamoudzou, Mayotte's capital. After Cyclone Chido devastated the French Indian Ocean territory on December 14, the town hall was the first to entrust them with a mission to identify potential shelters, now that the rainy season is here and shantytowns are already being rebuilt, and to ensure that the schools where hundreds of people sometimes sleep do not pose a risk to their occupants.

They examine the walls, floors and frameworks. On the sheets, they write down everything, "even the intact parts," insisted Vincent Milla, an employee of the Council for Architecture, Urban Planning and the Environment, on a WhatsApp chat that brings them together. Every square meter counts. At the end of the day, they send the summary to the town hall, with its share of emergencies to be dealt with: a piece of shaky framework, a wall threatening to collapse, a tree hanging in the courtyard. Everywhere, toilets are overflowing for lack of water.

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